Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

[dwk]

Do we know for sure the current KL Insider is not a new guy? I haven't read the thread on the other forum all that often prior to this year, but I think the KLI who flipped their middle finger at everyone for the incorrect color space of Silence of the Lambs' first 20 minutes (which, to be fair, was MGM baking that into their 4k source which they handed over to KL) feels like a totally different person to the KLI who's posted for much of the year. The former was so contemptuous of his customers that I don't think it credible he could have changed his attitude so much for the better.

And I agree, WAC are consistently better on the presentation of the films. I do wish Kino (and for that matter, Shout, after the lousy master they received for Platoon) pushed back harder on MGM for the quality of the masters that the boutiques forked money over but I'm not an industry insider and for all I know, MGM wouldn't allow anyone to review the files upfront.

I think they have said that there is more than one person that acts as the Kino Insider.

[domino harvey]

KL Insider is several people at the company using the same account

EDIT: Beaten by the page break! Yes, as dwk says

[JakeStewart]

He clearly doesn’t understand that for WB the releases are not the primary revenue stream for these restorations - just a way to get some return as they restore titles destined for “the Library” on streaming. Don’t blame him for his tone as George F. has fairly clearly implicated the Kino model as not being good for the movies, putting out tons of titles in OK shape instead of making sure every release is basically unimpeachably the best it’ll ever be.

His comment definitely has some animosity in it. It should be noted that some WAC titles that befuddle us apparently do sell well. About two years ago, George Feltenstein mentioned that “The Great Caruso” has always been a big seller, for some reason. I doubt KL Insider really knows what he’s talking about. He’s only somewhat credible for his own label.

[MichaelB]

KL Insider is several people at the company using the same account.

Everyone on the Indicator team has login access to the Blu-ray.com Indicator account, and unless an individual ‘fesses up behind the scenes the rest of us has no way of knowing who’s posting at any given time, unless the post is imparting knowledge that only one of us has.

But there’s also a strict policy of not rocking any boats, which has been pretty scrupulously adhered to.

[hearthesilence]

Is it reasonable to think that the more cantankerous posts are coming from someone higher up? I imagine it must be and that anyone lower in the company would have been fired by a more reasonable employer, but I could be very wrong.

[FrauBlucher]

If it is a higher up I get the sense it’s frustration of not getting a deal with WB.

[domino harvey]

Is it reasonable to think that the more cantankerous posts are coming from someone higher up? I imagine it must be and that anyone lower in the company would have been fired by a more reasonable employer, but I could be very wrong.

It’s the company culture. At one point one of the most annoying iterations was run by an intern who was posting on the weekends

And you don’t need conspiracy theories to agree with him: WA’s releases ARE bizarre based on what they put out before this model. He’s hardly the first to say as much

[Roscoe]

My copy of Mamoulian's DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE arrived yesterday, and while I haven't had a chance to do a full re-watch, the trip through selected moments confirmed for me that this is a stunner of a release. Essential for admirers of the film, and the concern I expressed above turned out to be groundless. I'm just gobsmacked by how good this looks and sounds.

[FrauBlucher]

TCM this afternoon aired back to back I walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim. The former looked great like it had a restoration and the latter was a rough print, not good. Not sure what that means in terms of why one and not the other. Could someone other than Warner be working on The Seventh Victim?

[domino harvey]

I doubt it, Shout was planning to release the rest of the set until the other Lewton discs bombed

[Ribs]

They’re probably still on the longlist at the Archive - and therein could be on Criterion’s long list as well (as it has been from many people for the past ten years since the Warner deal was first mooted, along with Freaks). But Shout clearly didn’t have confidence the sales would be good enough for most of titles for them personally to pay for the restoration, though WB obviously has different priorities WRT to maintaining their archive so will probably get to them in the fullness of time anyway, at which point a BD becomes a foregone conclusion.

[What A Disgrace]

It must be rather vexing being Shout!. They are a prestige boutique label, but they simply can't sell their titles the way, say, Vinegar Syndrome or Kino can, and they haven't cornered the boomer boutique buying market quite the same way as Warner Archive probably has.

Just imagine if Vinegar Syndrome had acquired the Lewton titles! At least they wouldn't be housed in those ugly blue cases.

[FrauBlucher]

Just saw this on bluray.com as member over there was quoting the former owner of HTF saying after a conversation he had with WAC he can confirm The Man Who Came to Dinner will be released very soon

[domino harvey]

Surprised they missed releasing it in time for the holidays

[yoloswegmaster]

George Feltenstein was also on a podcast recently where he said that next year's slate will be more like the 2021 one in terms of output. He mentioned that there will be releases from the RKO and MGM libraries, as well as a good portion of the titles being highly requested by fans.

[jheez]

On The Extras podcast, George confirmed they'll release silent film in 2023!

[FrauBlucher]

On The Extras podcast, George confirmed they'll release silent film in 2023!

We could get announcements as early as tomorrow, so maybe this is a hint for one of those titles

[yoloswegmaster]

January releases:

SpoilerShow

[Peacock]

Rancho Notorious at last! I’m crying.

[Red Screamer]

The Long, Long Trailer is good news too. You can find my defense in the Minnelli thread, but this unpleasant zombie of a comedy is of a piece with Minnelli’s Father of the Bride, The Clock, and others in the same anxious vein, but taken to the edge of the abyss. The cinematography should look great on blu, particularly the bizarre looking night scene I mentioned.

[Peacock]

Intriguing! Thanks Red.

What are people’s thoughts on Our Dancing Daughters and Wife Versus Secretary? I’d never heard of either before.

[DeprongMori]

Intriguing! Thanks Red.

What are people’s thoughts on Our Dancing Daughters and Wife Versus Secretary? I’d never heard of either before.

I caught Wife vs Secretary on Criterion Channel as part of its Jean Harlow series a couple of months ago and it was an enjoyable little comedy I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.

[domino harvey]

My thoughts:

Wife Versus Secretary (Clarence Brown 1936)
Happily married couple Clark Gable and Myrna Loy find things shook up when Gable starts keeping secrets and spending more time with his secretary Jean Harlow. There are several moments in the film where this tired narrative threatens to work: Loy and Gable’s relationship is fresh and lively and the scenes of Loy gradually losing her trust in Gable are the only moments that fully succeed. I thought how the film pivoted to admitting that Gable, far from being innocent despite being the victim of some sketchy extenuating circumstances, obviously does have feelings for Harlow was impressive, but I’m not sure the film ever earns the moralistic swerve it takes. Perhaps either three years earlier or thirty years later this film could have worked, but not when it was actually made.

[senseabove]

HTF confirms details that we can assume with WAC:

RANCHO NOTORIOUS and LONG TRAILER are Technicolor restorations of the original negatives.
LONG TRAILER is being presented for the first time in its proper widescreen ratio of 1.75

[Rayon Vert]

This was my take on Wife vs Secretary, going off domino's write-up:

Purely by chance this happened to be the third film in a row I watched that was co-scripted by Norman Krasna (following Bachelor Mother and Hands Across the Table), and it’s the one I liked the best. Domino wrote this com-dram up earlier in the thread. It’s not the most original story but, apart from the ending, I found myself really liking the direction and acting here. I think domino is possibly making too much of one small moment where a drunken Gable has soft eyes towards his secretary “Whitey” (Harlow) - whereas she is revealed at the end to truly have developed feelings -, because he’s really presented as completely in love with his wife throughout, while still having a strong complicity with his smart (and beautiful) assistant. It felt refreshing to have such honorable characters in this type of scenario.

Meanwhile Whitey sticks up for herself and her job when her jealous boyfriend (Jimmy Stewart) pressures her to give it up to assume a traditional marriage role. But, yeah, the ending isn’t the greatest.